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# obey

«obey» in Mova's school dictionary: **To do what a person, rule or law tells you to do** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (obey, obeys, obeyed, obeying)

### meaning for a pupil

To do what a person, rule or law tells you to do. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/obey/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In citizenship and safety lessons: obey the rules of the road, obey a lifeguard's whistle, obey safety signs and the law. In stories: soldiers obey orders, servants obey a king, a dog obeys commands. Also in science: objects «obey the laws of physics». Lessons also teach that you should never obey someone who tells you to do something harmful or secret — tell a trusted adult.

### examples

- Dogs can learn to obey commands like «sit». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/obey/#x1)
- We must obey the school rules. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/obey/#x2)
- Always obey the lifeguard's whistle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/obey/#x3)
- Drivers must obey the speed limit. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/obey/#x4)
- The soldiers obeyed the general's orders. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/obey/#x5)
- If a stranger tells you to keep a secret, do not obey — tell an adult. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/obey/#x6)
- Everything on Earth obeys the law of gravity. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/obey/#x7)
- "Master, I obey," said the genie. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/obey/#x8)

### note

Regular verb: obeyed (keep the «y»). Noun: «obedience»; adjective: «obedient». Opposite: «disobey». «Obey» is stronger than «listen to»: it means you actually do what you are told.

### In the corpora

- ["Strong-willed" means defiant, refusing to obey.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/14-family-and-behaviour/12/)
- [Real loyalty means caring for people and being honest with them, not obeying a group no matter what.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/383-street-gangs-and-loyalty/18/)
- [Respect means people value and trust you; fear means people avoid you or obey you only while you are there.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/385-respect-how-it-is-earned/20/)
- [In 1215 English barons forced King John to accept Magna Carta, which said that even the king must obey the law.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/37-britain-and-ireland-a-short-story/8/)
- [General Assembly votes show what most of the world thinks but usually cannot force a country to obey.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/politics/23-why-wars-happen-the-un-and-nato/14/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «obey» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/obey/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.